Learn About Loss – Cassandra Clare

My reaction to the story: I’m not crying. You’re crying. While this was not the most exciting of tales, it did lay some of the foundational groundwork for Kit Herondale. I love the Herondales, so I want to know more about their familial history and how this mysterious lost Herondale came to be. More importantly, though, we got to experience this story almost entirely through the eyes of Brother Zachariah/Jem. Despite the years, he is still struggling with his role as a Silent Brother. It wasn’t something that we understood from the books, because we were never inside his head. The inner turmoil is heartbreaking and the little bits of humanity that cut him like a thousand tiny knives also cut you as the reader. It was beautiful and tragic at the same time.